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David Gordon Green is Working on a Remake of 'Ice Station Zebra'

We just recently heard that director David Gordon Green (who has Your Highness coming out this weekend) was hoping to make the gestating Suspiria remake his next project. But Green has also been working on another project. In a recent interview with The Playlist, the writer/director revealed that he's just finished a script for Warner Bros. that's a remake of the 1968 military film Ice Station Zebra. It doesn't sound like it's a film for Green to direct, but the fact that he's working in yet another different genre is really a great prospect. For more juicy details on that, plus one of Green's dream projects, keep reading!

Apparently Green just recently turned in a script for the aforementioned remake. He says:

"I just finished a script for Warner Bros. that’s a remake of ‘Ice Station Zebra’ that’s a big military movie. And I got to go camp out on the arctic circle with the Navy and explore those kind of… you know just the lingo and the politics of what’s going on in the arctic right now so it truly is a passport. Like literally Warner Brothers says, ‘Do you want to get on a jet with the Navy and get on a submarine?’ and you’re like, ‘absofuckinglutely!’ ”

For those curious, here's a rundown of the film's plot:

Commander James Ferraday, USN, has new orders: get David Jones, a British civilian, Captain Anders, a tough Marine with a platoon of troops, Boris Vasilov, a friendly Russian, and the crew of the nuclear sub USS Tigerfish to the North Pole to rescue the crew of Drift Ice Station Zebra, a weather station at the top of the world. The mission takes on new and dangerous twists as the crew finds out that all is not as it seems at Zebra, and that someone will stop at nothing to prevent the mission from being completed.

It's not clear whether or not this has been written as an action comedy akin to Pineapple Express or even Your Highness, but I'm definitely interested to see how Green writes on that kind of scale. However, what's more intriguing to me is a project that Green considers a dream project. Here's what the director had to say:

"I wanna do a movie about rival musical families in Branson, Missouri in the 1960s. I’ve had this idea for awhile, because hanging out in Branson is bizarre. It is a trippy, amazing place. Ozark culture really appeals to me, and it hasn’t been captured in a movie. It will probably be a few years down the line, because no one really wants to make a big musical period piece."

Sounds like it could be quite a quirky musical comedy, and I'm definitely on board with that. I'm picturing something like two different families not dissimilar to the musical groups of A Mighty Wind going head-to-head. Though Green is right that studios probably aren't keen on a period musical piece, "Glee" has certainly reinvigorated the musical as a whole. For now, count me interested in both of these projects and looking forward to seeing Your Highness this Friday. How about you?

Reader Feedback - 7 Comments

1

not bad

A5J4DX on Nov 13, 2018

2

not bad

A5J4DX on Nov 13, 2018

3

lets remake the world...

RemakeUSA on Apr 6, 2011

4

I saw the orginal Ice Station Zebra when it was released in 1968 aI thought it wsa just 'okay'. Back then I was 12 and into war movies like The Dirty Dozen, Battle of the Bulge and Von Ryan's Express. I remember that it seemed to go on forever and it was long on talk, short on action. It was one of those 'c'mon get on with it' kind of action movies. Given a great new cast, CGI and a director who'd like to pump up the action this could be a very worthy remake.

Sgt. Rock on Apr 6, 2011

5

And come to think of it, when in the hell are they going to make a Sgt. Rock movie?

Sgt. Rock on Apr 6, 2011

6

I agree. It's about time someone made a Sgt. Rock film. It'd be a hell of lot better than this lame remake.

Hattori Hanzo on Apr 6, 2011

7

Ice Station Zebra was one of Howard Hughes' favorite movies. Don't think that's really an endorsement, just a fun fact. Well, a fact, anyway.
Nobody's made an Allistair MacLean story on screen since Force 10 from Navarone. Who knows/ Might actually be worthwhile.